Top of the Morning: France Intensifies Mali Airstrikes; Security Council to Meet on Mali

France has blocked a rebel advance southward and is striking insurgent targets far behind the front line. “Paris said four Rafale jets flew from France to strike rebel training camps, logistics depots and infrastructure around Gao with the aim of weakening the rebels and preventing them from returning southward. ‘We blocked the terrorists’ advance and from today what we’ve started to do is to destroy the terrorists’ bases behind the front line,’ French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told LCI television. France has deployed about 550 soldiers to Mali under “Operation Serval” — named after an African wildcat — split between Bamako and the town of Mopti, 500 km (300 miles) north. In Bamako, a Reuters cameraman saw more than 100 French troops disembark on Sunday from a military cargo plane at the international airport, on the outskirts of the capital.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/UXK2Dk)